Deep dive into the iPhone 5 supply chain returns a story of shoddy recruiting, debt and starvation

0.phoneArena
08 Nov 2013, 02:15posted on

In a fascinating read that takes for example Apple's supply chain ins and outs, Businessweek traces a journey from packing milk crates in Kathmandu through testing iPhone 5 camera modules, to becoming broke and in debt at the end...

The reality is 9 out of 10 companies in Chinese OEMs operate in a similar manner. And Apple is fully aware of their vendors' inadequate treatment towards the employees. Does Apple care? Absolutely not as long as they get what they ordered on time. Apple's employees are at the vendors' sites most of the time making sure everything is done correctly as far as manufacturing is concerned but much care less about how they are treated. How do I know? I've worked for a company providng parts to Apple (also to LG, Samsung and Nokia) and we had manufacturing facilities in China. I don't work for them anymore but nothing has changed since then. By the way, Flextronics is one of the largest OEMs for Apple. You stop doing business with them and you would end up waiting months before you get your hands on a shiny Apple phone.

No we wouldn't. The price of the phone is what the market will pay. The things that will change are apple's, and others, ungodly profit margins. The only way that will change though is if consumers demand it.

That is only part of the problem though, other manufacturers like Samsung also have this problem with parts suppliers. This is just terrible, but apparently this is how these companies get these parts so cheap, so that they can get these big profit margins. Only way to put a stop to it is to not buy this crap in the first place.

I have just become a member of this side so that i can comment on what a one sided and badly written / researched article this is!

For the most part i agree with 'alterecho's comments'. There is very little reason for Apple to appear in this article unless it is a smeer campaign. Most larger asian companies work like this, so we would have to blame the larger part of all Western companies wanting cheep labour.

Plus, he didn't leave his home for Apple as 'implied' in the article. He was already in the city due to floods etc.

There is no background justification whatsoever. Even i f we do feel sorry for him (and we do) he had made most of these decisions himself.

Most Asian companies work like this? Have you ever worked for an Asian company? I worked for a company that dealt with Samsung, LG, Pantech, Panasonic, NEC, Hitachi, Sharp and their 1st tier vendors. They are all Asian but none of them work like this. The problem is Apple is heavily dependent on OEMs in China that continue to ignore and turn their blind eyes on the exploitation of hiring/firing procedures. People are hired/fired at will without any adequate compensation depending on the severe fluctuations in manufacturing capacity requirement. Other Asian companies I've mentioned above mainly have their own manufacturing facilities in China and their treatments towards employees are a class above that of Apple's OEMs. I am not saying the article is accurate or justified in any way but you shouldn't go around making stereotype statement about Asian companies without really know what is going on.

Exactly. When Apple does this, everyone goes crazy, when Samsung does it it's no problem and then who's the real she*p?(why can't I post sh**p, it's offensive?, when it was Android trashing iOS users it wasn't a problem.)
This happens everywhere, with everyone, it's not just an Apple problem. This suppliers work for everyone, not just Apple and Apple is the one investigating this problems cause no one else will.

They are the only ones coming of Light recently. And Of course they say they are investigating and "changing" their suppliers work.... Its just a way of saying, "We're sorry, we promise it wont happen again" and what do they let happen again? The same thing. Apple is a POS, other Companies do the same sure, but its not making news due to not having bad press elsewhere. Apple is one of the largest companies around, so they need to make double the efforts of anyone else to keep this under wraps OR articles like this pop up. Samsung is larger then apple due to all of its hundreds / thousands of products worldwide and not just phones but they keep alot of their problems under the radar so you dont see much of it. This is not a bash article against apple, its a little recap story of a migrant worker in a impoverished country trying to make a living by going to work for apple *Its contractors are STILL considered apple as THEY ARE MAKING APPLE products which is Representing the Main company* And getting bullied and abused and left with even less then when he started.

If the IPhone was made by us Americans... It would cost easily over 2K each. The MARKET (us) says no way in hell are we going to pay for 2K for a phone, so.. What does ANY manufacturer do? Find a way to manufact WHAT WE WANT, FOR A PRICE WE WANT TO PAY. The automobile manufacturer industry is another great example. Does anyone think the pay, benefits, working environment at the KIA plant in Korea is better than the Ford plant in Detroit?

You realize that your statement is counterintuitive. If the market says no way are we going to pay $2k, then no, the phone would not cost $2k. It's true no company should be partnering with suppliers like this, but they do. Just about all of them. When Apple (or any other company for that matter) makes public statements about championing human rights (and they do), but then contracts with companies like this... It's pretty hypocritical.
Considering what Apple just went through with Foxconn, you'd think they'd have learned a lesson.

Oh don't forget Apple or any company would go from paying 2% in taxes in those countries, to paying the 35% in the US. Which again would drive the cost through the roof. It's a sad story no doubt, but don't point fingers, nobody has a better idea.

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